by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON - The walk from the visitor's locker room at TD Garden to the bus ramp takes about two minutes.

For New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, it's another long walk after a loss, this time 90-86 to the Boston Celtics on Friday, dropping the Knicks to 6-16.

Carrying the heavy weight of the Knicks' championship aspirations and the mounting losses, Anthony told USA TODAY Sports, "I've never dealt with anything like this before. For me, I've got to keep focusing on the next game, the next day and stay positive."

Even with Saturday's 111-106 win over the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks, now 7-16, have fewer victories than the Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and of course, the Brooklyn Nets and just two more wins than the last-place Milwaukee Bucks.

Anthony is right, too. He has never dealt with anything like this. A quick perusal of his win-loss record throughout his NBA career reveals he has never been on a team with such a poor winning percentage this late in the season.

"I'm very surprised. I'm very surprised, just at the fact that we're not clicking," he said. "We're out of sync. That's where the surprise comes from."

And because it's the James Dolan-owned Knicks and wild cards are always in play, coach Mike Woodson's job security is not so secure. Players aren't safe either as the Knicks explore potential trades to accelerate a turnaround.

Anthony says it's on the players to play better, Woodson says it's on him to get players to play better. And yet the Knicks are 4-12 in the past month, one of those was a humiliating 114-73 home loss to the Celtics on Dec. 8.

The Knicks are 18th in points scored (101.5) and 26th in points allowed (105.3) per 100 possessions. They are tied for 23rd in field goal percentage (43.3%) and 23rd in field goal percentage allowed (46.3%).

"We're a veteran team," Anthony said. "We should know how to win games down the stretch and get stops and get buckets. Once we figure that out, we'll get over the hump."

Friday's loss was disheartening, maybe even more so than the 41-point thumping. Blowouts happen. But on Friday, the Knicks were down 17 in the second quarter, up 11 in the fourth and lost. Even though Anthony had 26 points, just six came in the final two quarters. He was 1-for-8 in the fourth quarter.

Even stranger, known gunner J.R. Smith took just one shot in 26 minutes, 17 seconds.

"I don't know what that's about," Woodson said.

Smith said he was just trying to be a playmaker and get his teammates involved. It was the first time in Smith's career that he played more than 21 minutes with just one shot in a game.

But that's not the bigger issue. The Knicks lost to team with less talent that is supposedly rebuilding.

Anthony shoulders the burden, and understands he takes the blame for New York's lack of success. He knew that when the Knicks traded for him. But he's not the problem. He's averaging a career-high in minutes (39.1) and averaging 26.0 points and 9.2 rebounds. His shooting numbers are close to high career averages.

How much more can he do?

"I don't know. We'll see," he said. "I don't have no choice."

Now, to be fair, the Knicks have been hindered by injuries and other absences. Center Tyson Chandler is out. Point guard Raymond Felton is out and has been playing with injuries. Amar'e Stoudemire and forward Kenyon Martin have been in and out of the lineup, and Martin sustained an abdominal strain against the Celtics. Smith missed five games for violating the league's drug policy.

Woodson wants, and maybe even deserves, time to see what he can do with his full roster.

"From a coaching standpoint, when you put a team together, you've at least got to see if it works," Woodson said. "We just haven't had that luxury yet of being able to do that. â?¦ It's hard to really judge our ball club. I'd be the first to say that based on the fact that we don't have a full deck and we haven't had a full deck all year. That's the frustrating part."

Does a coaching change fix this? Is trading with the Toronto Raptors for guard Kyle Lowery the answer? Probably not. The roster is flawed, especially when compared to the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers, the two teams at the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks routinely use money and big names to try to solve the problem, and there's not much to show for it. They haven't reached the conference finals since acquiring Anthony.

For all the talk about Brooklyn's expensive payroll and luxury tax payments, the Knicks aren't far behind. With a payroll of $88.2 million, the Knicks tax bill will be about $33.6 million.

Building through the draft in the next few seasons will be difficult. New York doesn't have a first-round pick in 2014 and 2016 and doesn't have a second-round pick in 2015 and 2017.

In recent years, the Knicks' have traded tomorrow for today and get no closer to a championship. With little roster flexibility and a shortage of first-round picks, the future looks dim.

Moments before Anthony's walk to the bus, he told reporters in the locker room, "It's tough. If I said it ain't tough, I'd be lying to you. What we going to do? Stop playing now and stop fighting and stop believing? We can't do that. We've got to keep going and guys who are suiting up, be ready."

And right before he got on the bus, he said, "It's frustrating. It's tough. But we've got to go. We've got to keep on going."